MEDIUMUnknown →
NLTK versions before 3.9.4 contain a symlink escape vulnerability in CorpusReader.open() that allows local attackers to read arbitrary files outside the corpus root. The vulnerability exists because
NLTK versions before 3.9.4 contain a symlink escape vulnerability in CorpusReader.open() that allows local attackers to read arbitrary files outside the corpus root. The vulnerability exists because path validation is lexical and does not account for symlink resolution, enabling attackers to place symlinks inside the corpus root to access files outside the intended boundary.
Affected packages
- nltk
Exploit signal
- Known exploited (CISA KEV)
- No
- EPSS score
- —
- EPSS percentile
- —
EPSS is the probability a CVE is exploited in the wild; percentile is its rank among all CVEs.
Sources
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-70626
- https://github.com/nltk/nltk/security/advisories/ghsa-r6gq-whwq-mvg9
- https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/cve-2026-70626
- https://github.com/cveproject/cvelistv5/tree/main/cves/2026/70xxx/cve-2026-70626.json
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/cve-2026-70626
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nltk-before-symlink-escape-via-corpusreader
Structured record: https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-70626
Recommended response stack
Snyk — Scan your dependencies in CI and fix this vulnerability.→Socket — Detect malicious and compromised packages before they ship.→
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